Ankler on the Air

Ankler On the Air will be a weekly, sharp-elbowed, gimlet-eyed view of the foibles and follies of the entertainment industry. Each week a panel of Show biz experts will convene to pick over the latest news from the entertainment capital and hash out: who messed up Hollywood the most this week? Deciphering these tumultuous times for the industry, topics will range from Me Too fallout, to the encroachment of the tech world into entertainment, the picking apart that week's awards show or box office results. Guests will range from upstart reporters covering the industry to writers, executives and artists who toil in it, with an emphasis on people willing to fearlessly cut to the heart of what's happening under the surface.

On this week’s episode, Ankler Editor Richard Rushfield and film maven Emily Yoshida discuss the just debuting Cannes Film Festival.Who is it for? How much fun is it to visit on someone else’s dime?Would the tens of millions spent by studios catering to this media gala be better off being set on fire? And then we talk the GoT conclusion.Where does it’s exit leave HBO and what does this decade long, slow moving series say about what’s still possible in our ADD culture?

Is the destiny of entertainment nothing but capes and dragons as far as the eye can see?And how did nerd culture capture the imagination of the world so completely.We talk with one who was there from the inception, critic and Hollywood notable Drew McWeeny, author of a brilliant new piece about the history of the MCUabout the coming of the Marvel age,what choices and dumb luck made it happen and how it all might come crashing down one day.We also look at the Game of Thrones which seems to be ending its run on an opposite trajectory from the MCU Volume 1.What does the complete dominance of these two epics say about the state of our culture?Find out!

In this week’s thrilling episode of Ankler on the Air, we are joined by the Doyenne of entertainment journalism, the great Kim Masters.Kim drops by to talk about her big new story on the efforts made to secure a role for a previously unknown actress, reporting on the big guns in Hollywood and how the beat has changed since the Me Too moment.Join us and leave a review on iTunes!

Ankler on the Air returns!We’re joined this week by the Ankler’s own Editor at Large Jim Gibson to talk about the raging battle shaking Hollywood: Spielbergv. Netflix?What is a movie?Who gets to say? Is this a fight really about the old guard desperately clinging to power?And a quick review of Captain Marvel, out this week. And so much more!

Ankler On the Air is joined by The Hollywood Reporter’s fearless feature writer Seth Abramovitch.We talk about his rise up from the early internet snark-space of Gawker’s infamous Defamer blog to becoming a pillar of the entertainment establishment as a reporter for THR. We look at what its like covering Hollywood then and now, and discuss the strange world of YouTube by way of Seth’s recent profile of internet enfant terrible Logan Paul.All brought to you by the delicious people at Mrs. Fields!

On this week’s Ankler On the Air, we are joined for a special conversation with the original film blogger/critic and thorn in the side of many a studio, Drew McWeeny. We take a look together at his long career covering Big Hollywood movies as they progressed towards the superhero age. We look back on his career at aintitcoolnews, the original film blog, where under the moniker Moriarty, he was the bane of traditional studio PR for much of the 90’s, and how he grew out of that into a traditional film critic and man of the cinema, even as the studio machinery adapted itself to the age of the fanboys and co-opted much of what they did. Including – extra bonus – the original tale of The Ankler, and Stan Lee memories. Sponsored by Away Travel.

Awards Season madness is kicking up dust. This week, Ankler on the Air wades through the smoke with two fearless industry observers: New York Magazine film critic Emily Yoshida and the Ankler’s own Editor-at-Large Jim Gibson. We talk about the madness of the Oscar race, how these decisions go down and what surprises lie ahead on the Oscar trail. Then we look at AT&T’s sudden, shocking decision to pull the plug on Filmstruck, the classic film streaming service beloved of cineophiles. And finally we look at horror producer Jason Blum’s statement and apology about the lack of female horror directors. All brought to you this week by our good friends at calm.com.

This week Ankler on the Air chews over Tinseltown’s latest foibles and follies with special guest panelists Katey Rich of Vanity Fair and Seth Abramovitch of The Hollywood Reporter. In the crosshairs this week: after genuflecting before the Saudi Royal family and the new Crown Prince in particular, Hollywood’s recipients of his largesse suddenly find themselves receiving unwanted attention as the regime struggles with charges of murder. Next up, we talk about Weinsteingate at one. Is everything different now? Or is it just the drapes that have been freshened up. Finally, with the splashdown of First Man we look at the status of the Best Picture race – with just five months to go until Oscartime!

On the very first episode of Ankler On The Air we scale the heights of showbiz power breaking down this year’s THR power 100.Joined by panelists Kate Erbland of Indiewire and Vulture’s Chris Lee we also look at what’s next for James Bond and the new memor by fallen super-agent Michael Ovitz